_27th, 29th, and 30th January, 1870._--Rest from sickness in camp. The
country is indescribable from rank jungle of grass, but the rounded
hills are still pretty; an elephant alone can pass through it--these are
his head-quarters. The stalks are from half an inch to an inch and a
half in diameter, reeds clog the feet, and the leaves rub sorely on the
face and eyes: the view is generally shut in by this megatherium grass,
except when we come to a slope down to a valley or the bed of a rill.

We came to a village among fine gardens of maize, bananas, ground-nuts,
and cassava, but the villagers said, "Go on to next village;" and this
meant, "We don't want you here." The main body of Mohamad's people was
about three miles before us, but I was so weak I sat down in the next
hamlet and asked for a hut to rest in. A woman with leprous hands gave
me hers, a nice clean one, and very heavy rain came on: of her own
accord she prepared dumplings of green maize, pounded and boiled; which
are sweet, for she said that she saw I was hungry. It was excessive
weakness from purging, and seeing that I did not eat for fear of the
leprosy, she kindly pressed me: "Eat, you are weak only from hunger;
this will strengthen you." I put it out of her sight, and blessed her
motherly heart.

I had ere this come to the conclusion that I ought not to risk myself
further in the rains in my present weakness, for it may result in
something worse, as in Marungu and Liemba.

The horde mentioned as having passed Bambarré was now somewhere in our
vicinity, and it was impossible to ascertain from the Manyuema where the
Lualaba lay.

In going north on 1st February we came to some of this horde belonging